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R. H. ISBELL. HYDRAULIC RAM.

No. 418,132. Patented Dec. 24, 188 9.-

7/e'Z/zeaaea: jnmizzar: WALZC X M M0115 Me UNITED STATEs PATENT OFF CE.

ROBERT I l. ISBELL, OF NElV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE ISBELL MACHINECOMPANY.

HYDRAULIC RAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 418,132, dated December24, 1889.

Application filed May 26, 1887. $eria1 No. 239,494. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, ii may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT H. IsBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of New York, within the State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Hydraulic Ram, of which thefollowin g is a specification.

My invention consists of a series (three or more) of jointed armsrevolving; within a closed cylinder and dividing such cylinderlongitudinally into separate variable chambers, the arms being pivotedtogether at their inner ends upon a stationary pivot, which lies withinthe cylinder parallel to its axis, but at some point other than suchaxis, and at their other ends pivoted at different points at thecircumference of the cylinder, the variable chambers formed by the armsand the sides of the cylinder communicating succes-' sively with thesupply of water or other fluid to be raised during the time they areenlarging and during the time they are contracting, communicating firstwith the discharge-pipe and then with the pipe through which it is to beraised. Each of the variable chambers has an opening through one of itssides, and the successive communication with the supply, discharge, andelevating conduit is ac-.

complished by this opening passing certain partitions which separatecertain compartments from which those conduits lead out.

I know of no prior use of the principle of jointed arms pivoted within acylinder and so dividing the cylinder into alternately enlarging andcontracting chambers for the purpose of using the pressure of a fluid toraise a portion of it higher than its source. There are various methodsof applying this principle, several of which are shown inthe drawings.In all the forms shown therein the arms are pivoted within an innercylinder revolving within a cylindrical case.

cation of construction, increase of power, and reduction of friction.

In the accompanying'drawings, Figure 1 is a View of the jointed arms asarranged within the inner cylinder. and of the inclosing-case, with oneside of the case removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the capfitting over the case and forming one end of it. Fig. 3-is a v innerdisk I) of the cylinder ll.

partly-sectional view of the cap, case, and cylinder in position uponthe linear w of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a: section of the case taken on theline 1 y of Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a modification of theprinciple.

A is a stationary inclosing-case, of any suitable shape, resting uponthe standard a.

B is a hollow cylinder, somewhat shallow in shape, designed to revolvewithin the case A in'the direction of the arrow. One endthe innerdisk-of the cylinder B is entirely closed, and is solid with itscircumference. The other end is open, (see Fig. 1;) but when the partsare in position the face-plate or cap D, which fits over the case A andis affixed to it, also closes that end ofthe cylinder. The shaft 6 issolidly aflixed to the center of the The hearings in which 0 turns forma part of the rear plate of the case A, and in the form shown are theonly bearings of the cylinder B.

Within the cylinder B lie the jointed arms f f, g g, and h 72. They areall. of the same depth as the cylinder :3, so that they form, with thecircumference and rear disk of the cylinder and the cap D, when inposition, three separate chambers, which are in all positions entirelyclosed, except for the openings I), through the circumference of thecylinder, each of the chambers having its separate opening. The arms arepivoted together at 2' upon the stationary pivot d, which is a baraffixed to the cap D at some point other than its center. They are eachjointed at f, g, and h, respectively, and at their outer endst'. 6., atthe circumference of the cylinderare pivoted upon pivots aifixed'to thecylinder f", g, h", such pivots being equidistant from each other. Asthe cylinder revolves, the jointed arms move upon the inner surface of Dand also upon the surface of the inner disk of B. All the joints aremade The objects of the invention are simplifi-.

tight to prevent the passage of the water or other fluid from onechamber to another. Thus while the cylinder revolves upon its center thepivot around which the arms re volve is situated eccentrically as to e,the arms doubling to allow for the variation of dis tance between thatpivot and the circumference of the cylinder, and this-causes each of thechambers formed in the cylinder to alternately increase and decrease insize between given points in the revolution.

The case A incloses the cylinder in such way as to leave threecompartments j, k, and 19 between it and the cylinder, such compartmentsbeing entirely separated from each other by the partitions a, a, and c,which are inward projections of the case or blocks affixed to it,extending the depth of the case. The surfaces of a and a" which touchthe circumference of the cylinder B correspond in size and shape withthe exterior of the openings b, and the corresponding surface of c ismade of the same depth and about half of their width. The positions of aand a" are fixed, being as far apart upon the circle as the openings 1)are from each other, so that when one of those openings is opposite aanother is opposite a". Each opening b is so placed that when directlyopposite a the chamber between the jointed arms with which itcommunicates is at its largest size, and when opposite a, that chamberisat the smallest size. 0 may be placed at any point between the dischargeand elevating apertures.

.10 is a pipe leading from the reservoir to the compartment 7r, j a pipeleading from the compartment j to a faucet or other discharge into theopen air, and p a pipe leading from the compartment p to the point towhich the water is to be elevated.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The water (or other fluid) lies in the compartment under the pressure ofthe supply. The compartment 3' is then relieved of all pressure by thepipe j being opened to the outer air. The water thereupon presses from70 into the two variable chambers in com munication with it, and itspressure therein upon the jointed arms, enlarging those chambers,revolves the cylinder in the direction of the arrow. As soon as theopening I) of a chamber which is full of water passes the partition 0,"its contained water discharges into j until that opening passes thepartition 0. After passing 0 the remainder of the waterin that chamberis forced by the further contraction of the chamber into 19, and thenceth rough 19' to the desired height. The amount of water and height towhich it may be carried depend upon the well-known principles governinghydraulic rams. There is no deadpoint, because one variable chamber iscontinuously in communication with the supply, and pressure within thatchamber, when relieved from the pressure outside it, must revolve thecylinder in the direction of .the arrow. The face of the partition cismade narrower than the opening I) in order that there may no stoppage ofthe flow. the water is discharging into both j and 19. There is affixedto c a stem c',which extends through a slot in the case andhas a nutoutside the case; This slot is along the circumference and its limitsare shown by the dotted lines each side of c. affixed to c, the objectof which is to cover act calculation.

For an instant c" isa curved plate der to regulate the amount of waterto be raised.

The distance of the bar d from the center, or, which is the same thing,the position of the point i, is not invariable; but I have discoveredthat the bestresults are obtained if dis placed one-third of the wayacross ,the circle connecting the outer pivotal points f g", and h uponits diameter. The position ofi being fixed 'upon, the positions of theports I) and the cut-offs a and a are determined as follows: The purposeto be attained is that the water shall begin to enter each chamber 70from the moment it reaches its smallest capacity and shall have opencommunication for discharge at the moment it reaches its largestcapacity. This is a matter of ex- In the form shown the chambers aresmallest when the outer ends of their two inclosing-arms (9" and h, forinstance) are upon the same side of the circle as the pivotal point 2'and equidistant from the line connecting Z and the center of thecylinder. At that instant I) must pass a. In the drawings b is shown ashalf-way between g" and h"; but it may be placed in any other convenientplace upon the circle, provided the position of a is changed tocorrespond.

In like manner the chamberreaches its largest capacity in two-thirds ofthe revolution, and a" will consequently be twb thirds of the circledistant from a. As the chambers change from contraction to enlarging,and vice versa, instantaneously, the cut-offs must just cover the ports,and no more, at the instants of passing; otherwise the machine willpound. The ports I should be made somewhat larger than the pipes j and70' to allow free flow of water through them. The two legs into whicheach of the jointed arms is divided I make equal to each other. thatthat arrangement yields better results than any other, though it is notessential to obtain some result. The number of legsor parts into whichthe jointed arms are divided is not involved in the main principle ofaction. An arm maybe made of three or even more jointed parts; but thereis an advantage in confining the parts to two. To avoid possibility ofan arm catching uponthe center of its joint, I make them so that whenfarthest extended they will not come quite to a straight line. Thevariable chambers do not contract to nothing, and there are spaceswithin each chamber which the arms do not touch in their movement. Thesemay be filled or manufactured solid with the side and rear plate of thecylinder. With water, however, there is little or no advantage in this,owing to its non-compressibility. In applying this principle of jointedarms pivoted eccentrically within a closed cylinder I do not confinemyself to three arms. Subject to conditions of space, any greater numbermay be used;

I have discovered but the three-armed machine has a decided advantageover all others. It attains the best result, considering bothpower andfriction.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the modification of the principle consists merely inputting the openings or ports of the variable. chambers in the rear diskof the cylinder instead of in its circumference. This, of course,necessitates the placing of the three compartments and theirseparating-partitions behind the rear disk instead of around thecircumference of the cylinder. Fig. 5 represents the cylinder, and Fig.6 the case within which it revolves. The cap I) fits upon the case asbefore. The jointed arms are arranged within the cylinder precisely asbefore.

1' are the ports, which, by passing successively the partitions orcut-offs s, s, and s", admit the fluid from the water-chest tduring theenlarging of the chambers and allow its exit into 11 and a during theircontracting, u and a being connected, respectively, with the dischargeand elevating pipes. There is a decided advantage in placing the portsupon the circumference instead of in the rear disk, especially withnon-compressible liquids, for the reason that it allows a much moredirect course for the flow of the liquid through the cylinder. Thiswould,with water, for instance, make a large difference in efficiency.

An ordinary air-chamber may be added to the elevating-pipe in order tomake a more steady flow therein, such as w in Fig. 6.

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate another important feature of myinvention. In machines of this character friction is a very importantitem. In this invention much of the friction ordinarily encountered isobviated by the position of the chamber from which the supply is drawnwith reference to the position of the inner disk of the revolvingcylinder. Thus in Figs. 5 and 6 the pressure of the water in thewater-chestt against the inner disk of the revolving cylinder isbalanced (or nearly so) by the pressure within the two variable chambersin communication with it. There is thus no pressure tending to cause thedisk of the revolving cylinder to bear hard against the cut-offs s, s,and s, or tending to press the shaft of the cylinder against itsbearings in any direction. In other words, there are no parts movingunder pressure exerted against such movement; but all the power isutilized in doing the work. There is also, of course, far less wear. Thesame advantage is gained in the form where the ports are on thecircumference by placing an annular compartment in the case behind theinner disk of the revolvingcylinder and having it in communication withthe supply-compartment. Thus, in Figs. 3 and a, m represents thisannular compartment having open communication with the compartment it bymeans of the conduit or pipe 01. I11 either form, in order to balancethe disk 1) between thetwo pressures on either side of it, the rearsurface exposed to the annular compartment must be as nearly equal aspossible to the 1nner surface exposed to the pressure in the twovariable chambers which are in communication with the supply. As thelatter varies during the revolution, the best plan is to take the mediumsize for the former.

It is not essential to the principle of this ram that it should consistof an inner cylinder revolving within a cylindrical case. Jointed armspivoted eccentrically constitute the main essential idea, the gist ofthe invention, as it were, and the other parts shown may be variedwithout departing from the main principle. Thus in the form shown inFigs. 5 and 6 all of the circumference of the revolving cylinder may beentirely dispensed with, provided the outer ends of the arms arearranged to move water -tight against the circumference of the case. Inthat case we would have merely a revolving disk with the jointed armspivoted upon posts standing at its circumference instead of arevolvingcylinder. The case itself would be the closed cylinder.

I claim as my invention' 1. A hydraulic ram consisting of a series ofjointed arms contained within a closed cylinder and dividing suchcylinder into variable chambers pivoted together at their inner endsupon a stationary pivot which lies within the cylinder at some pointother than its axis, and at their outer ends pivoted at different pointsat the circumference of the cylinder, each of the variable chambershaving an opening by which it communicates as the arms revolve with thesupply while enlarging and successively with the discharge and elevatingconduits while contracting.

2. A hydraulic ram consisting of a series of jointed arms containedwithin a closed revolving cylinder and dividing such cylinder intovariable chambers pivoted together at their inner ends upon a stationarypivot which lies within the cylinder at some point other than its axis,and at their outer ends pivoted at different points upon thecircumference of the cylinder, each of the variable chambers having anopening through the circumference of the cylinder,'by which itcommunicates as the arms revolve with the supply while enlarging andsuccessively with the discharge and elevating conduits whilecontracting. I

3. The three-armed hydraulic ram shown in the drawings, consisting ofcylinder B, case A, cap D, and shaft 6, the cylinderB having threejointed arms pivoted at their outer ends at equidistant points upon thecircumference of the cylinder, and at their inner ends pivoted togetherupon the pivot d,

aifixed to the cap D, and having openings 11' into the variable chambersformed by the jointed arms, the case A having partitions a, a, and c,dividing the space outside the cylindei B into three compartmentsviz.,the In Witness whereof I have hereunto put my supply-chamber 7c,communicating with the hand this 25th day of May, 1887.

inlet 70, the waste-chamberj, communicating r with the waste-outlet j,and the elevat-ing- ROBERP ISLELL' chamber 19, communicating With thee1eVz1t \Vitnesses: ing-pipe psnbstantizt1l y as and for the pur- H. B.HATHAWAY,

pose described. SALTER S. CLARK.

